Chelsea have had their ups and downs in their 107-year history, battling against relegation on a couple of occasions.

But since the Russian billionaire's takeover of the club, Chelsea have become one of the biggest football clubs in Europe.

With billionaires you get money (billions of it), and this has helped Chelsea become a worldwide brand by bringing in the best players from all over the world.

Chelsea fans are now used to winning, which wasn't always the case, so fans who have followed the club for years are really enjoying the Roman Abramovich era.

There are still fans of certain clubs who haven't been successful for a while (not mentioning any names) that say Chelsea have no history, but under Roman Abramovich Chelsea are making their own history right now.

But what are the main reasons Blues fans should be thanking the Russian, and what has be brought to the club?

Global Reach

Every club has die-hard fans in countries outside of their own, even lower league sides.

But only the biggest clubs seem to have the ability to reach the masses of football fans worldwide.

In recent years, the amount of Chelsea fans in countries such as China, Korea and the U.S. has increased dramatically—and this isn't by chance.

This has developed from a global marketing strategy including preseason tours, flagship Chelsea megastores around the world and lets be honest, being a successful club helps a lot.

With Chelsea's new habit of winning trophies and spending megabucks on players and facilities, it has enabled the Blues to endear themselves to fans around the world who are looking for a team to follow in the Premier League.

Roman Abramovich's funding and a team of PR and marketing experts have helped Chelsea grow in to more than a football club, but now a worldwide brand.